EMPIRE 


T H'bfcS* 


MINING PROPERTY. 


SALINEVILLE, OHIO, 

508 ACRES. 



REPORT OF COL. CHAS. WHITTLESEY. 



CLEVELAND, O.: 

FAIRBANKS, BENEDICT & CO., PRINTERS, HERALD OFFICE, BANK STREET, 

1874, 





— ' H %o S 



EMPIRE MINING PROPERTY. 


SAL I NEVILLE, OHIO,—508 ACRES. 


REPORT OF COL. CHAS. WHITTLESEY. 


To John Hays, Prest.: 

Sir :—I have recently, and at previous times, 
examined the property of the Empire Coal Company. It consists of 
two parcels, the Pumphrey and the Kirk tracts . 

The Kirk tract embraces three hundred and fifty acres of coal right, 
with three acres of surface, and constitutes the western part of the 
property. There is one hundred and forty-seven (147) acres in the south 
east quarter of section 29, abutting northerly on the mine of James 
Farmer , which is worked nearly up to the line. It joins the village of 
Salineville on the south, and extends thence south one-half (-|) mile to 
the south line of the section. Next east of this is two hundred and three 
(203) acres, in section 23 extending from the C. & P. R. R. south to the 
section line three-fourths (j) of a mile, and east to the middle line of the 
section. 

The center of section 23 is one hundred and fifty-seven links south of 
the Railroad track, near the eighty-seventh mile post, between the tipples 
and the entry of the Empire mine, from whence it is half a mile south to 
the south boundary of the property. 

The Pumphrey tract, which includes soil and coal, is the west half 
of the east half of section 23, abutting west on the Kirk parcel, about 
half way, as shown by the accompanying map. It is one-fourth of a 
mile wide and north and south a mile, the south boundary of all the 
tracts being the same east and west line, a mile and thirty-four chains 
long. 





4 


THE STRIP VEIN. 


The engine, switch and entry are near midway of the property, north 
and south, I have no doubt the works are being driven on the so called 
“ Strip ” or upper bed ol Salineville. Any one who will take the trouble, 
can trace it from the old works in the village to the depot, where it out¬ 
crops at sixteen feet above the station, or 300-4-16=322 feet above Lake 
Erie. It is visible one-fourth of a mile down the road at bridge thirty- 
nine, about ten feet above the track, and along the bluff northeast of the 
creek. Here is the same impure limestone beneath it as at the station, 
and at other places. On TidbalFs Run one-fourth mile northeast of the 
last named exposure, it is opened three hundred feet, A., three feet two 
inches thick, of good quality, and a short distance below the same lime¬ 
stone appears in the Run. Here it inclines to the southwest, and at the 
point of the hill, at the eighty-seventh mile post, has been worked in old 
times for Shorb’s salt works, thickness three feet. It lies here at creek 
level, ten feet below grade. Your entry is about forty rods southwest, 
where the coal is only three (3) feet higher, and is four feet two inches 
(4 T y thick. 

On the east line of the Pumphrey tract, near the southeast corner, 
it is visible in an air entry, with the limestone a few feet beneath it. 
Less than half a mile southeast at the Hayes mine it is worked, from which 
the entry connects with the one last named. Up Hartley’s Run, near the 
south line of your tract, are several openings on it, three feet two inches 
thick, with everywhere the same roof of coarse blue shale. In two 
borings at the Empire mine the “ Big Seam ” was struck with diminished 
thickness, at about fifty feet, and at the Hayes mine at fifty-two feet, with 
a thickness of at least four and a half feet. Further on I shall pursue 
this subject of identity of seams, not only here but down the creek. 

As to the fact of the Empire entry being on the upper or “ strip 
vein” there is no doubt, 

THE EMPIRE MINE. 

This is seven feet below the Railroad, and is driven in about south two 
hundred yards. From this, branch entries are driven west and rooms 
turned, about as far as the main entry. The roof is blue shale, that 
stands up very well, and over it a slaty sandstone of great thickness. 
There is a sag or “ swamp ” about half way in, from which the water does 
not flow, but beyond it the seam rises to the southwest, and the drainage 
is perfect. The mine is a dry one. At thirty yards from the mouth of 
the entry the coal is four feet two inches; at seventy-five yards four feet 
four inches; at the branch entry five feet four inches, and at the swamp 


THICKNESS AND DIP. 


5 


five feet nine inches in thickness. This is a trough and not a circular 
basin, and it is longest northwest and southeast. I cannot give the depth 
of the depression or the rise beyond, but estimate the lowest part to be 
not exceeding five feet below, and the highest five feet above the entry. 
At the end of the works the coal is four feet six inches. Doubtless this 
thickness is greater than the average of the seam. 

The coal is bright and hard. It comes down in good sized lumps, and 
bears handling well. I have not seen it burn, but there are attached 
several statements of those who have used it. Around the thicker parts 
in the “ swamps” there are occasional lumps of pyrites. They are easily 
separated, are not in large proportion, and are not in layers. There is 
also the usual band of shale, near the bottom of the “ strip vein,” known 
as “ dry bone.” Aside from these, the face of the coal is very uniform, 
clear and solid; with very little variation in quality from bottom to top, but 
just below the middle for about a foot, it is somewhat more pure than 
elsewhere. Thus far the mine has been worked with great care, the 
rooms being thirty-two feet wide, and the partitions twelve feet thick. 
From the valley of Little Yellow Creek, the land rises rapidly to a height 
or cover, of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet. The entry and 
branches are six feet high, for the use of horses and mules. The mine is 
now in a state to produce ten car loads a day. 

DIP OF THE SEAM. 

By approximate levels taken to a number of openings in this seam, up 
the valley at Salineville, from the station westward, and along the Bail- 
road to the northwest, I am able to get as near the local dip as is neces¬ 
sary for our purposes. With these, by the use of a township map, I have 
constructed three triangles, having sides from eight-tenths of a mile to a 
mile and one-fourth in length, and find the direction of the local inclina¬ 
tion to be, from north 79° to north 82° east, that is nearly to the east, a nd 
very rapid. From near the east line of section 29, at the depot, where 
the out crop of the strip vein is three hundred and twenty-two feet A., to 
the same bed above the old works of the P. & 0. Coal Co., near the west 
line, the rise is 442—322=120 feet. That of the “ Big Seam ” beneath 
is about the same. At Farmer’s drain entry, five hundred feet southerly 
of the depot, two hundred and eighty-three feet A. to the old entry near 
the 2 -as well, there is a rise 397—283=115 feet. Both seams are irregular 
in stratification, not by reason of faults, but of warped surfaces; and 
they are not strictly conformable. 


6 


YIELD PER ACRE. 


Farther up the valley, to the west line of the county at Diamon, the 
rise is only about half as rapid in that direction. The dip of both seams 
is locally about ten degrees (10°) north of east, the line of bearing being 
nearly north and south , and the rate per mile about one hundred and 
twenty feet. This rate carries the upper seam down to about the place 
it has at your entry. The direction to drive entries in this tract is, 
therefore, to the south of west, conforming as you proceed to the local 
undulations. 

It shows that from the eastern side of the tract, there is abundant rise 
for drainage when working toward the west. 

The Salineville strip seam is more regular than the great or six foot seam, 
which lies forty to fifty feet below it, and its general average thickness is 
about three (3) feet. I think you have left in the mine somewhat more 
than is necessary to support the roof, that is one-third. One-quarter 
would answer, and in due time this can be taken out. If the thickness 
shall average only three feet or a yard of clear coal, after deducting a 
quarter, the yield will be three thousand (3,000) tons per acre. From its 
thickness and regularity at the surrounding mines and outcrops, I think 
this not a high estimate. 

I recommend a division of the property by a north and south line, in 
two nearly equal parts. There is more ground than is profitable for one 
mine. By securing the requisite surface rights on the creek near the 
depot, both seams can be worked by means of a side track sixty rods in 
length, or about the same as at the present opening. 

The works of Mr. Farmer on your north line do not show quite as 
great a thickness for the lower bed as at the salt works, but it ranges from 
five to six feet, and in those places the coal is purer and more solid than 
it is in the basins. 

I estimate the lower seam at two-thirds more, or five thousand (5,000) 
tons per acre, and both together 8,000. 

Both seams can be worked to the southwest, and therefore the north 
and east sides are the places to open. It is an advantage of ten or twelve 
cents per ton, having the property directly on a railway track, and in case 
the New Lisbon branch is taken to Salineville, there will be a choice of 
routes for transportation to market. 

As far as I am able to judge, both the Big and the Strip veins exist 
under all the property west and south of the creek, and the Big vein 
under all of it. Probably the Strip vein is workable under one-half the 
Pumphrey tract north of the railroad. The quality of these coals is not 


USE OF SLACK. 


7 


the same. Both are well known in market, the lower for steam, and the 
uppei foi steam and for mills. According to the official report there was 
shipped from Salineville, during the year prior to December 1 , 1873, two 
hundred and fourteen thousand four hundred and nineteen tons. Of 
this business you should take a notable share. 

Improvements have been made in Europe in puddling iron and steel 
by using none but slack or fine coal. From one-tenth to one-seventh of 
the coal of our mines goes into the slack pile, and is not only a loss, but 
an expense. By the process of Mr. Sie/nan all the heat is generated at a 
distance from the works, by the use of slack only. Besides a cheaper 
fuel, the furnace is so constructed that less heat is wasted, in fact, very 
little of it goes out of the chimney. 

A large establishment is being built at Cleveland on this plan by 
Messrs. Otis & Co. It is claimed that thirty (30) per cent, is saved in 
cost, and a higher heat is produced. These improvements have been in 
use for fifteen years in Europe, and for five years in the United States 
with success. It would be still more economical for mills located at the 
mines. Salineville is one of the points where, if any where, iron and 
steel mills might be erected on Sieman’s patent under ^highly advan¬ 
tageous prospects. 

COAL SEAM No. 6. 

The general course of the railway which lies along the valley of Yellow 
Creek from Rockville through Salineville to Hammondsville, is southeast , 
and the distance in a direct line about ten miles. With the exception of 
local undulations, the coal strata along this line sink everywhere grad¬ 
ually to the southeast. In 1850 I examined this region in reference to 
the coal, in company with the late George E. White , the company engi¬ 
neer ; who gave me the elevations of the beds as far as the mines were 
then open. I have repeatedly examined it since, being a field of great 
commercial importance. Using the profile of the road as a base, I have 
by short side levels, from time to time taken a very large additional 
number of elevations. According to the report of the State Geologist, 
these strata are subject to large and regular undulations or waves, in which 
form the coal seams sink and rise again in extensive troughs. One of 
these, according to the Report, crosses this valley and railroad; between 
Salineville and Irondale the axis of depression being nearly at right 
angles to the valley, that is, to the southwest and northeast. 

By applying the undulation theory, the so called “ Coal Seam No. 6 ” 
plunges beneath the surface, in the valley of Sandy Creek, at and below 


8 


OFFICIAL BLUNDERS. 


Hanover Station, and after passing under the Yellow Creek Summit, 
reappears at Salineville as the “ Big Seam.” Then it should rise again 
towards the southeast from 283' A, until at Irondale it is 333'; and thence 
decline to the southeast to and beyond the mouth of Yellow Creek, on 
the Ohio River. I have never assented to this theory, because it is in 
plain contradiction to the physical structure of the region. 

Beginning at the Hartford mine, three-fourths of a mile northwest of 
Salineville, the so called “ Strip Vein ” is opened at short intervals, south¬ 
easterly along the railroad track to the deep cut near the eighty-ninth 
mile, a distance of about three and a half miles. The mine at Rockville 
is also reputed to be on the same seam, and is about 447' A, rising to 
the northwest. Thence with the usual local irregularities, it is found at 
Hartford 347', Salineville 322', Empire mine 279', Hayes’ mine 292', 
McGary’s 260', Hart’s 282', and reputed to be in the deep cut, with a lime 
rock beneath it at 297' A. The first coal seam beneath it is the “ Big 
Seam,” forty to sixty feet lower, and equally irregular, with bunches of 
limestone in some places under the coal. It is traced at its proper place 
from Salineville, 283' A, to Hart’s, a little short of the eighty-ninth mile 
where it is said to have been reached in a pit, now visible, at thirteen feet 
below the grade, or 223' A. A third of a mile from this place down the 
Creek, just south of bridge 42, is an outcrop of coal; and also an old 
opening with an exposure at least fifty rods in length, lying near water 
level, and a few feet above the track, or 230' to 235' A. A few feet below 
are boulders of impure limestone, which has been calcined, in an old 
kiln. Here I leave this bed and go to Hammondsville, where there are 
six seams ; one of which is also called the “ Strip Vein.” 

The Hammondsville strip, lies not above the “ Big Seam,” as at Saline¬ 
ville, but one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty feet below. 
This, on the authority of the Chief Geologist, is also Seam No. 6 of the 
general series. 

The Hammondsville group is as follows, beginning at the Creek level: 

1. “Creek Vein ”—Not much worked. 

2. “ Strip Vein ”—Eighteen to twenty feet above; twenty to thirty 
inches thick, of very superior quality. 

3. “Roger's Vein ”—Not much worked; irregular in thickness and 
quality; three to four feet; seventy-five to eighty feet above the “ Strip.” 

4. Niselys or the “ Big Vein ”—Five to seven feet, with a parting of 
shale; quality not the best. Called also, Coal Seam No. d, one hundred to 
one hundred and fifteen feet above “ Roger’s Vein.” 


HAMMONDSVILLE GROUP. 


9 


5. Cumberland or Groff Seam —Three to four feet; little worked. 

6. A light, seam not worked, near top of the hills, which rises to 600 
to 700 feet above the Lake. Near the top is a bed of limestone. 

How can this group be brought into correct relations with the Saline- 
ville group? Are any of the beds common or equivalent, and if so, 
which, for their numbers are different ? By the State survey these ques¬ 
tions are disposed of by a simple assertion. The Ilammondsville and 
the Salineville great seams are represented without hesitation as one and 
the same , and both of them are the ubiquitous No. 6. 

From Linton, on the Ohio river, near the ninety-ninth-mile, up the val¬ 
ley towards Salineville, the “ Nisely Vein ” is open and worked as far as 
Irondale, and cannot be confounded with any other seam. The “ Strip 
Vein” is opened and worked from the same starting point, to and beyond 
Irondale as far as Clarke’s tank, at the ninetieth-milepost, in a direct line, 
a distance of between seven and eight miles. It has been worked so long, 


at points generally in sight of each other, along that space, and is so 
peculiar, that no one doubts its identity. The “ Creek Vein ” is not much 
worked, but is frequently visible near the water level, in its proper place, 
eighteen or twenty feet below the “ Strip Vein,” all this distance. Begin¬ 
ning at the Ohio river, the “ Big Seam ” lies on both sides of Yellow 
creek’ with elevations as follows: At Brown’s mine, 17V; at Nise- 
ly’s, 218'; Collins’, 249'; Hammond’s, 316'; and near Irondale, 333'; rising 
regularly to the north-west. Beyond this, in the same direction, the hills 
are not as high, and the “ Big Vein ” is not wrought, but the old settlers 
say it may be found near the summits as far as New Salisbury, at the 91st 
mile, and also wdtli it the “ Rogers Vein.” By three triangles constructed 
on the mines above named, I found the average dip of the “Big Seam” in 
this space, to be south 50° east 57 feet per mile, and in no instance a per¬ 
manent reverse dip. But the “ Strip Vein” of lower Yellow creek is the 
surest guide through this field. Beginning as before at Linton, it >ies 
above Lake Erie 126'; Collins’, 135; Hammond’s, 132; Iron da ie, 1*4; 
and at New Salisbury, 235'; showing everywhere the same regular un¬ 
broken rise, along the line of the road to the north-west as the other bed. 
At Hammondsville it is not strictly conformable to the “Big Seam,” which 
is about 160 feet above it. Here there is a local depression to the south at 
Wallace’s mine of about 30 feet, rising again in that direction a mile beyond. 
There is in it no general dip to the north-west. I have thus traced the 
two groups, one from Salineville to the eighty-ninth mile, and in the oppo¬ 
site direction from the Ohio to the ninetieth mile and beyond. 4hey are 


2 


10 


A DILEMMA. 


all well exposed within half a mile of each other. In this gap, about 
midway, are some old works on the “Creek Vein,” at the railway, a few 

u ' 

feet below the track, and near high water of the creek; about 220' A. 
How shall we join the two ends of these profiles ? About half a mile 
apart lie the outcrops of the Salineville Big seam, on the north-west, and 
the Hammondsville strip, at the south-east, on the same level. If the 
Hammondsyille Big Seam exists, it should be at this place 150 to 1G0 feet 
higher; or about 400 feet above Lake Erie. From thence it is brought 
of necessity by the Report, suddenly down across the stratification, or the 
other brought up, 150 feet against the dip. 

The following profile sufficiently explains the dilemma: 



a—a—Greek vein. 

bi b—Hammondsville “ Strip vein.” 

c—Reputed place of the “Rogers vein.” 

d—Reputed place of the Nisely Big seam and No. (5. 

111—Salineville “ Big seam,” also No. 0. 

2 2 2—Salineville “ Strip vein.” 

x x—Railroad grade, 182 to 233 ft. A. I. Linton, Engineer. 

In the space of four miles represented by this profile, decided changes 
have taken place in the geological structure. At Salineville there are two 
workable beds of coal, and two thin ones not wrought, making four. One 
is about 80 feet above the “ Strip Vein,” and the other 36’ below the great 
seam. At Hammondsville there are six, and as the two groups are traced 
together, some of the seams disappear. When the profiles are brought 
together and compared at Bridge 42, the Salineville strip (2) is further 
than usual above No. I by 10 or 15 feet, which is nothing unusual. All 
the way from Linton eight or nine miles direct, the Strip and Creek veins 
continue to be visible close together, and parallel. It is not certain that the 
Rogers and the Nisely beds do continue thus far, but at Irondale, two 
miles below, they are respectively 250 and 333' A. If “ c ” is there, it cor¬ 
responds in stratification most nearly with No. 2, at Harks. No. 1, or the 
Salineville Big seam, may be the same as “a” or as “b,” or it may be 
neither. Even in this short space, some of the beds appear to thin out 











COMPARISON OF SEAMS. 


II 


and disappear. At Hart’s, there is a bare bluff rising from the railroad 
track, up to an old opening 50 feet above, and no intermediate seam of 
coal is visible. As yet no bed has been found, or sought for, below Ho. 1, 
at this place. To force Ho. 2 on the north, down to a or b, or to bring 
Ho. 1 up to connect with d, on the south, and call both of them Ho. 6, 
are equally wild conclusions. The effort to bring the Sandy valley Ho. G 
into the same place with Salineville Ho. 6, is no less difficult. It may 
well be conjectured that the bed Lit at Bridge 42, represents one of 
the beds near the track, a or b. The latter beds are so near together and 
all are so nearly on a level, that farther examination is necessary to con¬ 
nect them with certainty. If 1 11 corresponds with either a a or b b, it 
would follow that 2 2 and the “ Rogers seam ” are the same. In that 
case, the iNisely great seam 100 feet higher or more, may exist on the 
hills, near the top, in a thinner condition, and be represented by the upper 
thin seam at the Empire mine. Should this conjecture prove to be true, 
there is an approach to harmony in the groups; but if the Salineville 
Great seam is Ho. 6, the Strip is Ho. 7, and the Hisely seam Ho. 8. 
There is no opportunity to bring the two No. sixes into one plane. 

In northern Ohio the coal seams are not continuous , in thickness, 
quality, or position. They lie in basins, local troughs, patches and splices; 
thickening up and thinning out in all directions. The endeavor to find 
equivalents, at distant points where in the intermediate spaces the beds 
have disappeared, and others set in, has caused radical confusion, in our 
physical geology. In practice, the consequeiice will be that those who 
rely upon finding continuous beds, for shaft mining beneath the surface, 
will be disappointed. 

If, on the recommendations of the Report, explorers sink for the “block 
coal,” or Seam Ho. 1, on the Ohio River, expecting to get the Briar Hill 
seam, they will unquestionably fail. Other seams may come in, and may 
be furnace coal, and not have the position of this bed. Such an accident 
may happen, but to state that parties will find the same Ho. 1 with its 
superior quality, under all parts of the Ohio coal field, is to raise false 
expectations. Hasty generalizations are easily made, much more so than 
patient and accurate work, but they do not fulfil objects and purposes of 
a survey. 

CHARLES WHITTLESEY. 

Cleveland, July 1, 1874. 


CERTIFICATES REFERRING TO THIS COAL. 





CLEVELAND IRON COMPANY, 
Cleveland, O., June 26, 1874. 


Col. Chas. Whittlesey, 


Dear Sir We have used a large amount of the coal mined by the 
Empire Coal Co., of Salineville, and consider it a superior article for Rolling Mill use. 

Very Respectfully, 


S. A. FULLER, 
Scc’y & Tresis. 


A. C. Armstrong, Gen'l Purch. Ag't, 


Cleveland, O., July 17,1873. 


Dear Sir I have made as full a test of the Empire coal 
as I could with the quantity. From my experience with it, I should judge it will not clinker. 
It steamed very well, but it is not as strong nor as heavy as Pittsburgh Coal we have been 
using. Respectfully, 


L. O. GASSETT, 


Ass’t M. M. L. S. R. R. 


Office of the UNION IRON WORKS CO., 
Cleveland, O., Sept. 2,1873. 

This is to certify that we have been using coal from the Empire Coal Co. in our Mills at 
Newburgh, and find it to be a good mill coal. JAMES PATON, Swp’t. 


John Hays & Co., 
satisfaction. 


Office of the ALLIANCE ROLLING MILL, 

Alliance, July 6,1874. 

Gents We have used your Empire coal in our Mill, and it has given good 

J. HUNTER. 






